Randeep Singh Surjewala, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary, reportedly attended an official meeting in Bengaluru which was presided over by the deputy chief minister and Bengaluru Development Minister DK Shivakumar. The meeting was organised to discuss the upgrading of infrastructure in Bengaluru and was held at Shangri-La Hotel in the state capital on Tuesday.
The state cabinet minister met with representatives from the state government and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) at a private hotel after touring Bengaluru to assess municipal projects that were being carried out. Both the Congress leaders were seen seated next to each other in a photograph from the meeting shared by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
“What is his capacity or authority to chair the meeting with the BBMP and BDA (Bangalore Development Authority) Commissioners /Officials? Is this where the 85% deals are being orchestrated by the ATM Sarkara to raise funds ahead of the 2024 Elections,” asked the primary opposition party. However, DK Shivakumar denied the accusation. He claimed, “Officers had come to take me to the BDA office when I was with Surjewala. Let BJP tweet whatever they want.” There was no official meeting, according to several Congress officials as well.
The “secret meeting” held at Bangalore's Shangri-La Hotel is just another way of ‘Gandhis!’ trying to control Karnataka.
— BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) June 13, 2023
The family have sent their close aide Randeep Surjewala, who neither holds any position at BDA/BBMP nor in the government to decide on Karnataka’s matters.… pic.twitter.com/CTioPhUh0S
Rakesh Singh BBMP administrator and assistant chief secretary of the urban development department and BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath can be spotted along with Randeep Singh Surjewala and DK Shivakumar. Other prominent figures in the room included Energy Minister K J George, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, Minority Affairs Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, Political Secretary to the Chief Minister Naseer Ahmed, and Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad.
“Is Surjewala Super Chief Minister of Karnataka? Under what capacity he called for a meeting of the BBMP Commissioner, ACS (Additional Chief Secretary) Urban Development, and BDA Chief? I heard Advocate General was also present in this meeting conducted by the Congress Party in charge,” questioned Senior BJP leader and former Union minister Basangouda Patil Yatnal. He sought the BBMP Commissioner to make it clear what was on the meeting’s agenda and what the officers’ assignment was.
HD Kumaraswamy, Janata Dal (Secular) leader and former chief minister, also criticised the state administration for allowing Randeep Singh Surjewala to meet with ministers and top officials. He charged, “Do we have a government headed by Siddaramaiah or a government that is at the mercy of Delhi’s 10 Janpath? Did people vote for a Congress government or a puppet government? That has been proved even before the government completed a month in office.”
He challenged who gave the Congress stalwart the permission to host the official meeting with senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers in attendance. He remarked, “There are senior ministers in the meeting. Senior IAS officers are also present. This means it was an official meeting. But, Surjewala is in the centre seat. Minister is sitting in a seat beside him. Isn’t it strange? The Chief Minister should answer.”
Meanwhile, Housing Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan tweeted, “Participated in the meeting which was called by Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar at Shangri-la Hotel in Bengaluru and discussed various issues and betterment of Bengaluru. AICC General Secretary and in-charge of Karnataka State Randeep Singh was also present,” along with an image from the meeting. Afterwards, he took the tweet down. The meeting lasted two hours, according to sources in the government, and they covered a range of topics, including the BBMP elections.
On Wednesday afternoon, a BJP delegation led by the former ministers and party legislators R Ashoka and Suresh Kumar is scheduled to meet with Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to demand that DK Shivakumar be held accountable for allowing Randeep Singh Surjewala to chair an official meeting that included senior IAS officers. A BJP official confirmed that the party would also seek action against the latter for attending the formal session.
